


apple juice

by fruectose



Series: tumblr prompts [5]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, but then i wrote a longass fic, idk what to make of myself either, this was meant to be a drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,299
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25037305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fruectose/pseuds/fruectose
Summary: spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with apple juicewritten for tumblr prompt: so what if I broke my arm, I can still do it
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson
Series: tumblr prompts [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1756708
Comments: 11
Kudos: 133





	apple juice

Look, what happened to Annabeth Chase was unfortunate, but it _wasn’t_ Percy’s fault.

If anyone had to be blamed, it was the two-hundred-pound footballer from the opposing team who had absolutely no regard for Percy’s personal space. Hell, if someone had to be at fault, why not blame the cheerleader in question herself? It wasn’t like Percy had gone and yanked her off the top of her pyramid and thrown her into the middle of the field. She _chose_ to take that fall-

Okay, maybe that was a little unfair. He felt a little guilty attacking her when she was quite obviously injured, but sometimes, if you’re too much of a pretentious snob, life can throw some pretty cruel punishments your way. Maybe this was just Annabeth’s karma. _All the girls in the world_ , he thought. And it just _happened_ to be Annabeth Chase who’d hurt herself. Percy crossed his arms over his chest in defiance and craned his neck.

He could just about see her body, lying on the ground with about ten humongous players from both teams crowded around her, obstructing his view. Behind him, the game goers had fallen quiet, whispering among themselves in panic. On his left, her squad dropped their pompoms and discussed worriedly among themselves as Coach Hedge came jogging over. He muscled his way through the boys and knelt down beside her.

“You should go help.”

It took Percy a moment to realize one of the cheerleaders was talking to him. He’d seen her around school- he thought her name was Katie. She scowled at him like she couldn’t believe she had to actually acknowledge him. It was nothing new- Percy wasn’t particularly popular, especially not among the cheerleaders, except for maybe Annabeth herself. He couldn’t really begin to dissect his relationship with Annabeth Chase right now, so he flashed Katie the most sarcastic smile he could muster and gestured towards the Heroic First Responders gathering around her fallen squad-mate.

“Oh, don’t worry.” He said drily. “Your friend’s got plenty of help as is.”

“Yeah, but it’s your fault she’s hurt.” Katie told him. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, and he realized it wasn’t so much out of spite as it was concern for her friend. Still, Percy knew better than anyone that Annabeth needed no concern, worry or support. The same part of his chest that felt guilt also felt the urge to defend himself. He didn’t do it on _purpose_ , and he really didn’t like the look Katie was giving him.

“Maybe if your reflexes were faster you’d have caught her before she catapulted.” Percy reasoned.

Katie narrowed her eyes at him and opened her mouth to say something, but then she fixed her gaze on something over his shoulder. He turned around and his heart sank. His ancient AP calculus teacher, Mrs. Dodds was hobbling over from the bleachers, glaring daggers at Percy. She hated Percy as much as she doted on the fallen cheerleader from hell, so he knew this was going to be excruciating.

“Now, dearie.” She croaked. “Quite a mess you’ve gotten into, isn’t it?”

“Mrs. Dodds, I didn’t -”

“I do hope Miss Chase is alright. Come.” She decided, grabbing him by the arm and leading him to the huddle. Her skin was cold and wrinkly and _god_ , Percy was reminded of just how much he hated her.

The footballers stepped aside for them and when he saw the sight in front of him, Percy thought he was going to be sick. Annabeth had a _huge_ gash on her forehead from which blood dripped into her blonde hair. Her arm was twisted at an unnatural angle that made Percy’s elbow uncomfortable. Her skin was pale and her eyes were closed and if Percy wasn’t aware of how calm everybody around him was, he might have thought she was dead. One of the guys on the team jogged over with a water bottle and handed it to Coach Hedge, who gently sprinkled it on her face. She woke up with a start and then immediately cried out in pain.

“It’s okay, Annabeth.” Percy looked up to see his friend Beckendorf, the quarterback, kneeling on her side. His voice was gentle, contrasting pretty comically with how impossibly big and intimidating his football uniform made him look. He reached out and held her hand. Percy knew Beckendorf’s girlfriend was quite close with her. He must have had a soft spot for her because he said softly, “You’re alright.”

Annabeth groaned and tried to sit up before immediately sinking back onto the ground. A guy from the opposing team reached out to help her and Percy recognized him as the one who started the entire chain of events. His uniform read Sinclair. Percy glared at his back.

“She’s probably concussed.” Coach Hedge decided. Percy looked around. Didn’t these games usually have a field medic? “Someone needs to take her to the nurse.”

Beckendorf and two other guys volunteered at the same time. Mrs. Dodds cleared her throat.

“Don’t let this tiny mix-up ruin the game.” She offered innocently. She was a frail old woman surrounded by ginormous young athletes, but Percy could tell everybody (himself included, he’ll admit) was terrified of her. It seemed like she was emitting some kind of energy that made those around her lean as far away from her as was possible. “Mr. Jackson will take her. It’s the least he could do for causing such a ruckus, right, Mr. Jackson?”

Percy felt everyone’s gaze on him and the back of his neck heated up. He swallowed thickly and glared at the ground.

“Yeah. I’ll… come on.” He mumbled. He waved to Beckendorf in acknowledgement before getting on his knees beside Annabeth. He readjusted his camera strap and met her eye.

“You okay?” He asked. She scowled.

“Oh, I’m _super_ , Jackson. This is just a show I like to put on every so often.” She told him. He could hear some of the players chuckle behind him and took a deep breath. That was Annabeth Chase for you- charming as ever.

“Alright, no need for an attitude. I’m here to help you.”

“After you all but tossed me into the middle of a football game.” She snapped. Obviously, the concussion wasn’t _too_ severe, because she seemed to be her usual terrible self. Percy rolled his eyes.

“I didn’t even- you know what? Whatever. I’m just here to take you to the nurse and then I’ll get the fuck out of this shit fest.”

“We can hear you, Mr. Jackson.” Mrs. Dodds sang gleefully from behind him, excited for an excuse to punish him further. “You’re already at a month-long detention, don’t make me extend it.”

“A _month_ -!?” He started, and then stopped. He didn’t need to give her any more fuel.

“You’re joking.” He grumbled and grabbed Annabeth’s good arm, causing her to suck in a breath, but he also knew her well enough to know she was only being dramatic. He slung it over his shoulders and held her around her waist and picked her up. She smelt like sweat, soap and lemons- _intoxicating_ was the first word to come to mind. A lot of things about Annabeth could be described as just that- intoxicating. A whiff, a glance, a second of her attention was never enough. His knuckles brushed against the exposed skin on her stomach and his cheeks burned. Why were cheerleader uniforms so short? Was she not freezing? Percy had a denim jacket on over his hoodie and he thought he could afford to be warmer still.

“This is _so_ embarrassing.” Annabeth complained as Percy picked her off the ground bridal style. He felt a million eyes on him and hoped he wasn’t blushing. Annabeth peeked over his shoulder- at the players, coaches, cheerleaders and spectators from both teams, all of them watching her intently- and buried her face in Percy’s chest like he could shield her. “This day could not get worse.” She mumbled.

“You’re telling me.” Percy muttered. “I’m the one who’s got a month-long detention with Dodds.”

Annabeth was helpful on the three-minute walk to the sickbay by not being particularly heavy and also by not running her big mouth, two things Percy was immensely thankful for. When Ms. Sands, the school nurse caught sight of Annabeth, she dropped her phone where she was aimlessly scrolling and jumped to her feet.

“Oh my god, Percy! What happened?” She cried, gesturing for Percy to set her down on the bed. When he did he realized Annabeth’s eyes were closed. She could barely keep herself upright, and sank back into the wall. She flinched when she moved her arm.

“Jackson pushed me into the field.” She said drowsily. Despite her heavily spiced up version of the truth, she sounded almost innocent. Percy almost felt sympathetic, except for the fact that she was falsely accusing him of attempted ( _failed_ ) murder.

“Jackson did _what_?” Ms. Sands demanded, examining her head wound.

“Jackson did no such thing!” Percy protested. “It was an accident!”

“This could have been a lot worse.” Ms. Sands decided. “We’ll get this all fixed up, and we can listen to Percy’s side of the story while we do. How does that sound, Annabeth?”

She smiled kindly at Percy. Maybe it was because of the rapport he’d built with her from all his billion visits, but he thought she might be one of the few adults in school to actually like him. Percy watched her walk over to pull out some bandages, a bottle of alcohol and some tweezers and cleared his throat.

“I was doing my job, covering the game for the newspaper.” Percy explained, patting the camera hanging over his shoulder. “Looking through a viewfinder, as one does, when that oaf from Hillview, Sinclair, came up way too close to me.” He said.

Ms. Sands nodded with sympathy and started to clean out Annabeth’s forehead. She yelped in pain and reached out, grabbing tightly onto Percy’s hand, sending electricity arcing through his arm and up his spine. She’d squeezed her eyes shut, so he was grateful she didn’t catch him staring dumbly at their hands and then at her. There would never come a day when Percy Jackson understood girls, least of all the one in front of him.

“Continue.” Ms. Sands told him gently, failing to hide a smile as she worked. “Annabeth, honey, this is going to sting. But I promise it’ll be over in no time.”

“Oh great.” Annabeth muttered. “ _More_ stinging. Just what the doctor ordered.” Percy snorted and Ms. Sands shot him an exasperated look as if to ask why he was encouraging her. He focused on his story.

“Anyway, I had to jump back last minute, and because I was so consumed with the camera, I didn’t see the girls and their pyramid, so I knocked into Silena, and that caused a ripple effect that ended with Annabeth, who was at the top, falling off the four levels of cheerleaders under her and straight into the football field. If you ask me, the cheerleaders were _way_ too close to the sidelines, anyway.”

Annabeth whimpered and he caught a single tear rolling down her rosy cheek as Ms. Sands began to stitch her gash closed. Her fingers dug into Percy’s hand and she bit her lip until she drew blood. Percy felt a little guilty for attacking her when she was already pretty low down.

“It was a huge mess-up.” Percy said. Annabeth tightened her grip on him, slowly cutting off all circulation to his fingers. “She’s like, seventy pounds. Compare that to the two massive, fully armed, human bulldozers that slammed into her- she didn’t stand a chance.”

Ms. Sands hummed. “The poor girl.” She said, studying her. She was finished with her stitches and Annabeth slowly unwound her fingers from Percy’s, and he was kind of embarrassed to admit he missed the feeling, even if it was a lot more painful than he’d have liked. She opened her eyes and struggled to focus on Ms. Sands. “Honey, you’re going to have to go to A&E. I’ll call your parents, okay? That arm is definitely broken, and it looks like you might have a concussion.”

Ms. Sands pulled out a flashlight and studied Annabeth’s eyes. Then she made her follow her pen.

“No, scratch that. You definitely have a concussion.”

“I’m okay.” Annabeth mumbled. “I’ll just drive up there myself.”

“Yourself?” Ms. Sands cried. “Absolutely not, young lady. I’m sure your parents won’t mind-”

“But they _will_ , Ms. Sands.” She said. She refused to meet Percy’s eye and kept her gaze trained firmly on the ground, which Percy was pretty sure she was having trouble focusing on. “Don’t bother them, please.”

Ms. Sands stared at her and then looked helplessly at Percy. She sighed.

“I’m sorry, Annabeth. I can’t let you leave like this in good conscience.”

“It’s okay. Percy will drive me.” Annabeth said. Ms. Sands looked at Percy and Percy looked at Annabeth, who continued to stare glumly at the floor.

“He will?” She asked hopefully.

“Uh…” He waited for Annabeth to give him any sign at all. When she didn’t, he shrugged his shoulders. “Okay.”

“Thank you, Percy. I would do it myself, but I can’t leave- just in case there’s anybody else who needs attending. You know how football games get. High schoolers are so prone to injury.”

“Sure. Don’t worry, Ms. Sands.” He told her.

She thanked him and put Annabeth’s broken arm in a makeshift neoprene cast. She made Percy promise to get Annabeth to the hospital safely and to keep her updated. Her phone rang and she excused herself, leaving the him alone with Annabeth.

“You don’t have to drive me. I just don’t want her calling my dad.” Annabeth blurted out.

He didn’t really know what to say. He’d known Annabeth since she joined his middle school in the sixth grade- almost six years - and this was the first thing he’d ever heard about her home life. How could someone not be comfortable asking their own parents for help? She obviously needed it- if a concussion and a broken arm didn’t warrant a call, what did? His mother would be so angry if he’d chosen to drive himself in Annabeth’s condition rather than ring her.

“Would he be upset?” He asked her. He knew he was overstepping. His relationship with her had always been lightly antagonistic, bordering on friendly, _maybe_ a little flirtatious. They liked to compete on who got the higher score in history or who’s personal best was lower on the track team. Even when they hung out with their mutual friends, Percy kept his distance. It was a conscious decision. It was easier to pretend to dislike her from afar because he was too afraid of how much he would sincerely like her if she were closer. On rare occasions, he’d catch her smiling with the brilliance of all the stars in the galaxy, he’d know- she was far too dangerous to let any nearer.

He expected Annabeth to snap at him. She liked to do that. Sometimes he wondered if she didn’t feel the same way about him. He’d seen the way she’d blush furiously when they hung out as friends and how her friends always smirked at her when he walked by her in the hallways. She’d scowl in his direction and tell him his shoe was untied and Percy couldn’t help but entertain the idea that maybe she was a little scared of him, too.

Nothing good could come of it. Besides, it was senior year, now. It was too late to entertain what the eager tugging in his gut he felt every time he saw her could mean. Next year she’d be off in some ivy league school, far away from NYU. It couldn’t lead to anything but disappointment.

Annabeth sighed and slumped back. “I… yeah. He’s very busy. So is my step mom. They’ve got tons of work… and their hands full with the twins.”

Percy knew she had two half-brothers, but she made it sound like they were children who needed to be looked after to the extent that her parents couldn’t spare her twenty minutes for a ride to the emergency room. Her brothers were only two years younger than them. One of the twins, Matthew, was on the swim team with Percy, so he knew for a fact that they were both capable and well-adjusted and needed no extra attention. Annabeth blushed and avoided his eyes and he wondered if there were people in this world cruel enough to not _want_ to care for her.

“Oh.” He said. “Well, it’s okay. I’ll drive you.”

“I don’t need your pity, Jackson.” Annabeth growled. She hopped confidently off the bed and immediately began to sway precariously, her eyes unfocused. She blinked. “I’m fine to go on my own.”

“Yeah, and what are you going to switch your gears with?” Percy scoffed.

“I drive an automatic. I’m fine.” Annabeth said through gritted teeth.

“If you can find the door out of this place on your own, I’ll let you go.” Percy told her. Annabeth made a face. Real mature.

“Shut up, Jackson. It’s a Friday night. Don’t you have video games to play?” She snapped. It was supposed to be an insult, but she was right. Percy’s friends were probably waiting on him, but Call of Duty was going to have to take the backseat for the moment. He was, first and foremost, Sally Jackson’s son. His mom would never forgive him if he let Annabeth, broken, battered and bruised, go on her own. It simply wasn’t an option.

“Alright. Come on, stupid.” He told her. “I’ll take you. One night. We’ll never have to talk about it again. I’m a good driver, I promise.”

“ _No_. I don’t-” She gritted her teeth. “I don’t need help. Or your pity.”

“It’s not pity, you’ve broken your arm!” Percy cried. The girl was stubborn as a mule and she was driving him up a wall.

“ _So_? So what if I’ve broken my arm?” Annabeth demanded. “I can do with one arm what you can barely do with two!”

“I admire your spirit, Annabeth, but _grow_ _up_.” Percy told her. He didn’t wait for a response, walking up to her and picking her up, bridal style, like he had before.

Her face was suddenly so close to his. So close that he could see specks of blue in her grey eyes, and the faint blush on her cheeks. He could see the freckles on her nose she’d covered up with makeup and the tiny curls sticking to her forehead from sweat and blood. Percy’s heart slammed against his chest, right where her shoulder was pressed. He swallowed thickly, and Annabeth suddenly broke eye contact. She blinked and looked pointedly at his chin.

“Well?” She demanded, a queen on her chariot. “What are you waiting for?”

Percy faltered. “Uh… nothing.” He said. He carried her to her car and set her down carefully in the passenger seat before hopping in beside her. He pulled out and they drove in silence.

“Hey, can you do me a favor?” Percy asked. He fished out his phone from his pocket and tossed it to her. “Text my mom what’s happened?”

Annabeth hummed and he heard her key in a text. “Hey Mom.” She said. “I just brutally attacked this girl from school and now Mrs. Dodds is forcing me to baby her. I’ll be home late. Love, Percy.”

“Don’t send her that.” Percy complained, keeping one hand on the wheel and reaching for his phone with the other and Annabeth laughed.

“No!” She said, swatting his hand with her good one. “No, I want to snoop.”

“I’m a boring man, Annabeth.” Percy told her. “You’ll only find photos of my sister and my dog on there.”

Annabeth was quiet for a moment. “Ooh. And texts from Rachel Dare.” She sang. Percy knew what was coming and sighed. Annabeth read the text and dropped the phone. He could feel her incredulous gaze on him.

“Rachel Dare asked you out?” She cried. “And you said you weren’t interested in her? Like _that_?”

“Don’t sound so surprised.” Percy told her, but he was kind of pleased with her reaction. He thought it was time she took him seriously, as someone girls would want to date. He was afraid Annabeth didn’t see him as a viable option. “She’s just not my type.”

“She wasn’t asking to be your wife, Percy.” Annabeth told him. “You don’t need to have a type to casually date.”

“Yeah, well, I’m just not interested.” Percy told her.

Annabeth laughed again. It made her sound so human. This moment, driving with her, the Oh Wonder on the radio- everything felt so natural. Percy’s gut tugs became stronger and a little bit more difficult to ignore.

“What is your type, then?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” Percy told her earnestly. “I only know what’s not. What’s your type?”

Annabeth thought for a while. “Funny.” She decided. Percy snorted.

“You and every girl ever. Come on. You can do better than that.” Percy sneaked a glance at her and raised her brow. Her grin reminded him of a naughty child- large and foolish.

“Okay.” She said. “Blonde. Short. Stocky.”

“You got someone in mind there, Chase?” He asked.

“Yeah, the opposite of you.” She said cheekily. Percy laughed.

“Ouch. That stings.” He told her. “Especially because I was just thinking how, if I had a type… it would be you.”

His tone was light but his words rang true. Maybe Annabeth felt that because she went quiet. He felt her gaze on his, intelligent eyes studying him, and stared ahead at the road.

“What do you like about me?” She asked him. She wasn’t being presumptuous, wasn’t being smug. She sounded almost mystified, as if she wasn’t even sure whether to believe him. As if she’d never been _liked_ before.

“You serious?” He asked her. She nodded her head. “Okay. But don’t let this inflate your head anymore. Your neck won’t be able to bear the weight.” He warned.

Annabeth laughed. It was a soft, shy laugh. He didn’t think he’d ever heard that one before. “Shut up.” She said. “Tell me.”

“I can’t shut up _and_ tell you- that’s a paradox.”

“ _Percy_!”

“Fine, okay.” Percy allowed. He refused to meet her eye. They were almost at the hospital and he wanted this entire ordeal to be done with. “I think you’re… cool. I like that you have a thousand opinions on everything under the planet, I guess. And that you never let it bother you when people call you annoying- you just… proudly carry on being the biggest loser in the world.” He told her quietly.

Annabeth didn’t say anything. They pulled into the parking lot and he helped her out. She ducked her head, her ponytail falling over her face.

“Nobody’s ever liked me before.” Her voice was barely over a whisper, spoken more to the evening air than to Percy. He knocked his shoulder against hers.

“That can’t be right.” He said. He’d heard the way boys talked about Annabeth. There was definitely _something_ about her they liked. Then again, high school boys were disgusting. Annabeth didn’t say anything. He led her in and sat her down before grabbing a form from the receptionist. He sat down beside her and began to fill it out for her.

“You never answered me.” Percy said as he wrote. “What’s your type? Except for the anti-Percy. That could be so many things.”

Annabeth was reading the form over his shoulder and stopped to meet his eye. “Kind.” She said without missing a beat. She wasn’t messing about anymore. “Just… kind. Above all.”

  
Percy got the feeling she was talking about someone in particular. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know. Annabeth looked back down at the form.

“My middle name is June.”

“ _June_?” Percy asked. How much about her did he even know? “Annabeth _June_ Chase?”

“I didn’t choose it.” Annabeth defended weakly. Percy snorted.

“ _Nobody_ should have chosen it. AJ Chase. Like apple juice.” He said. Annabeth squinted at him.

“You’re reaching. Like, a _lot_.” She told him. She wasn’t wrong.

She dictated out the rest. She was the same blood group as him, which was good to know in case Percy ever needed help. He discovered that her family lived in an impressively rich neighborhood. Percy wondered what that wealth meant if it was him that was filling out the form. Obviously, money couldn’t fix a family.

“Are you sexually active?” He asked her. She frowned and scanned the document.

“It doesn’t ask that!” She protested. Percy shrugged.

“I know. That was for personal use.”

“You’re such a _pig_!” She might have hit him but her arm was obviously giving her a fair amount of grief because she just winced and sat still.

Percy laughed. Winding Annabeth up gave him pleasure like nothing else could. He liked that she was, for the most, a good sport. She rolled her eyes at him and they settled into a comfortable silence. He liked Annabeth. He liked her a _lot_. He’d known that for a while, of course, but when he thought it now it didn’t feel as suffocating.

“So what do you usually do on a Friday night?” He asked.

He already knew the answer, from years of stalking her Instagram. She went to whatever party there was and left early in time for a movie night with Silena Beauregard and Clarisse la Rue. Between obsessively checking her social media and badgering her the moment he saw her on Monday, Percy was pretty sure he had a clear idea what her weekends looked like. She hung out with the same people- Silena, Clarisse, Beckendorf and Chris on Saturdays, and the Stoll brothers on Sundays. From what he could tell she barely spent any time at home. She shrugged her shoulders.

“Silena’s throwing a party for once we crush Hillview, and I was supposed to go there.” She said. “But this happened.” She gestured to her arm. “Which works well because this week’s had enough excitement. I think I just want to cuddle in bed and watch a movie on my own.”

“What kind of excitement?”

“I don’t know if you heard but I had this incident with a cute boy who accidentally started a chain of events that ended with me getting body slammed by two fifty pounds of pure muscle. Gave me a concussion and broke my arm.” She said so casually Percy almost didn’t realize who she was talking about. He tried not to pay much mind to the fact that she’d called him _cute_. He failed. Miserably.

“Sounds like an asshole.” Percy told her. Annabeth laughed.

“Oh, he is.” She agreed. “A likeable one, though.”

Percy’s smile came from the depths of his soul. “Oh. How likeable?”

Annabeth turned red as a tomato and averted her eyes. She looked like a deer caught in headlights and Percy realized she hadn’t meant for him to hear that.

“Kind of likeable.” She said, her voice unnaturally high pitched. She cleared her throat and glared at the ground. “Anyway, I was thinking of sitting my dad down tonight and breaking the big Harvard news to him.”

She hadn’t gotten in? Percy knew Annabeth’s entire family was Harvard legacies. Almost the entire school knew it. She had great grades, the right extracurriculars, family connections and the rare gift of being a fantastic writer. She was a shoo-in for Harvard.

“Oh.” He said. For as much as he riled Annabeth up, it felt horrible to see her upset. “I’m so sorry. Obviously the other schools you applied to aren’t stupid. They’ll have you in a heartbeat.”

“I got in.” She said, like it was the worst news in the world. Percy raised his brows but said nothing. “I… want to go to Stanford, though.”

“Why Stanford?”

“Just… away.” Annabeth said. She got a faraway look in her eye, like she was already imagining her life in California. She let out a wistful sigh.

“There’s nothing here you want to be close to?” Percy asked. It was a stupid idea, to think she’d miss him.

Annabeth’s eyes had a thoughtful twinkle in them and she looked at him.

“There might be.” She said. “But anything that’s here… won’t change regardless of where I am. Right?”

He first thought she was talking about her family, but he saw the way she was watching him and he wasn’t so sure. Was she talking about him? He had absolutely no idea. “I don’t think you can move on with your life if you’re worried about what you leave behind.”

“Au contraire, mon frère,” She said. “I think if you have something solid- it doesn’t matter where you go. Because you can always come back to it.”

Was she flirting? Was she insinuating she wanted to explore her feelings for him like he did, her? Mon _frère_? Why did she call him her _brother_ \- was he thinking too much into it? Maybe she just liked French rhymes. It beat being called her father, right?

“I like you.” He told her instead, if not for any reason but to shut his mind up. The questions were making him dizzy. “I like you. Like I wish we could come to a point in life where I wasn’t afraid of how much I liked you. _That_ kind of like.”

Annabeth went quiet. She searched his face, almost suspiciously, as if waiting for him to burst out into laughter and tell her she was on a prank show. Some part of Percy wished he could do that. He couldn’t believe he’d done that. Then he thought about the look on her face when he’d told her he liked her as a person. He couldn’t take that away from her. Her silence went on for long enough that Percy decided to break it himself.

“You don’t have to like me back, or anything. I just thought- I was reading into what you were saying, and…” He sighed. “I guess some part of my brain just felt like if I didn’t tell you now, I’d never tell you. And I don’t want to be the guy sitting at your wedding to some NBA star thinking about how it could’ve been me, if I’d just had a little more courage, and-” he stopped when he realized she was crying.

“What?” He asked. Annabeth shook her head and a small smile played on her lips.

“You like me.” She repeated slowly, as if the words were a magic spell. “Percy Jackson… _why_?” She asked, letting out a wet laugh.

“ _Why_?” Percy repeated.

“Don’t answer that.” She sniffled. “I don’t want to know. I just… I need to take in this moment.”

She leaned back and closed her eyes. She reached her good hand out and laced her fingers through his. _All the girls in the world_ , Percy thought drily. _And he’d picked the hardest one to understand_. He looked at her hand, deceivingly small and delicate in his. It didn’t fool him in the slightest- he’d seen her spike a volleyball, and he did _not_ want to be on the opposing team. She fit so easily with him. It looked like both their hands were carved specially to hold each other’s.

Annabeth got called in and she got to her feet and Percy made to get up after her but she rolled her eyes.

“No. Sit.” She demanded. “Or go home. I’ve got this from here.”

“I’ve got you so far.” Percy protested. “Ms. Sands will kill me if I abandon you now. Besides, we drove your car here.”

Annabeth glared at him and Percy slumped into his chair. This seemed to satisfy Annabeth because she smiled toothily. Before the butterflies in his stomach could react to it, she leaned down and pressed a kiss on Percy’s cheek. It was light as a feather, her lips touching him for barely a second, but he’d feel that imprint for an entire week.

_All the girls in the world_ , Percy thought again, watching as she followed the nurse into the room.

He might have sat there, smiling stupidly at the doctor’s closed door, all night but his phone buzzed. It was a text from his mom that read: _I’m so sorry to hear that, dear. I hope you feel better soon. Thank you for your lovely words_.

It was confusion that made him open the conversation. He’d forgotten he’d even asked Annabeth to text his mom, and was now surprised that she’d sent her a medium-length novel instead. He read her message slowly once, and then once more.

_Hi Mrs. Jackson. I’m Annabeth, Percy’s classmate. There was an accident at the game today and Percy offered to drive me to the emergency room. Everything is okay and he’s safe but he wanted me to let you know he was going to be late. I apologize if my carelessness has cost you in any way. Your son is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I’m so grateful for him, he’s been so helpful!_

Was that truly how she felt about him? She wasn’t one to fake niceties. She wasn’t really one for niceties at all. He read it one more time.

She’d called him _kind_. You might think he was reading too much into it, but Annabeth was careful with her words. She chose them carefully, arranged them meticulously, and used them at just the right times. It’s why her history essays were always better than Percy’s. It was no coincidence that she’d called him kind, or that she hadn’t deleted the message. She meant for him to see it.

He didn’t know how long he spent obsessing over her, but he only stopped when she came back out, her arm now wrapped in a violet cast. It was a nice color. It suited her. She smiled at him and spoke to the doctor a while longer before he patted her on the head and let her go. She joined him and he led her to the car.

“All good?” He asked. Annabeth nodded with a small smile.

“Why did you wait for me?”

“I care about you, stupid.” He told her. Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him from over the hood of her car and struggled with the door. She refused to use her good arm, and Percy knew better than to help. He strapped himself in and Annabeth fumbled for a minute longer before successfully opening her door with a broken arm. She got in and grinned.

“See?” She asked. “No broken limb will ever get in my way.”

“Broken limb or anything else.” Percy agreed, starting up the engine. “Except…” He deliberately let his voice trail off.

“Except what?” She demanded.

“Here I was, thinking a broken limb and a brush with death might give you some perspective.” He sang. “Re-evaluate your life. Reach out to the people you love. Tell them how much you care about them… how much you value them… how _grateful_ you are for their _help_ …”

Annabeth seemed to catch on because her face broke into that childlike smile again. “Oh, don’t flatter yourself Jackson.” She said. “Nobody said anything about _love_.”

“Aha! But you admit there’s something there!” Percy jumped up in his seat and pointed an accusatory finger at her. A smile bloomed from his chest and the warmth ran all the way down to his toes. Annabeth rolled her eyes. “Just admit it, Chase. The gig’s up.”

“You want me to say it?” She asked him. She was just playing with him! The nerve! Percy shook his head.

“No.” He told her. He knew Annabeth. There was only one way to get her to do what he wanted. “I _dare_ you to say it.”

“I’m not a child.” She told him. “I don’t care-”

“You’re not a child, you’re a chicken.” Percy said. Annabeth laughed and he squawked at her. She tried to tell him to shut up but he only squawked louder, inching his face closer to hers with every chicken screech.

“Fine, fine, fine!” She laughed when his nose was brushing against hers. She met his eye and there it was again- that smile he was seeing so much of. _Stupid_.

“I like you.” She told him. She didn’t wait for his response, which was good, because Percy hadn’t really known what it would feel like to hear that confirmation. He hadn’t expected it would actually make his muscles freeze up. She pressed her lips against his and kissed him softly before drawing away. “I like you, like- I like you, like you. Like you like me.”

“Sorry what was that?” Percy asked, regaining his motor functions and leaning in to steal a quick kiss. “Say it louder?”

“No.” Annabeth crossed her arms over her chest but pecked him again. And then once more, perhaps for good luck. And then one last time. He couldn’t reason that one out, but he didn’t care.

“God, Annabeth.” He told her. “You’re so desperate.”

“Shut up, stupid.” She grumbled. She looked out of the window and Percy started the engine. “And don’t think that I’m not going to kick your butt in PE on Monday just because I kissed you a little.”

“You ravaged my lips and won’t even make life easier for me?” Percy groaned.

“Not on your life.” Annabeth stuck her tongue out at him.

“All the girls in the world,” Percy said dramatically. “And I just had to choose you, Annabeth Chase.”

**Author's Note:**

> guys ur comments leave me so emotional i promise i'll get to responding to them individually i'm always smiling like a dummy when i see them god bless <3 <3


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